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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

02/09/10 Haircuts for Haiti In Greenwich

Haircuts for Haiti at Becker Salon

A Gift of Shear Love

February 14 and 21, 2010

February 4, 2010 (Greenwich, Conn) --On Valentine's Day, Sunday, February 14 and again on Sunday, February 21, Becker Salon will embark on a special fundraiser, "Haircuts for Haiti," offering haircuts for $50 and donating all proceeds to the American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter for the relief efforts in Haiti. Shampoo and blow dry are included.

For this fundraiser, Becker Salon will open on two Sundays when the salon is normally closed. Becker Chicaiza, salon owner, said his staff is willing to donate their expertise as well as their time on their days off to help this important cause. "The people in Haiti need help desperately, so this is something we can do to contribute," said Chicaiza.

The American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter is grateful for the help. "We appreciate the generosity of Becker Salon," said Joan Irish, CEO of the American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter. "This is a great example of a Greenwich-based business pitching in to support our monumental task of helping Haiti."

Those who may not need a haircut can also purchase a gift certificate for $50 during "Haircuts for Haiti" and the proceeds will also be contributed to the Haiti relief efforts. From February 14 through February 21, a Red Cross donation box will be positioned at the salon for additional donations.

Becker Salon is located at 268 Mason Street in Greenwich. The hours on Sunday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 21, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To make an appointment, call 203-340-9550. For further information about Becker Salon, please visit www.beckersalon.com.

==================================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/08/10 Kim Eves Has Time To Send An Email Saying That Schools Will Be Closed, But She Can't Respond To A 5 Day Old FOI For The Byrne Memo

The Greenwich Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, February
10, 2010.

Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

www.greenwichschools.org

Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail:
kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us

Fax: 203-869-8003

COMMENT:

What Is Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Hiding From The Single Family Home Owners Of Greenwich Who Pays For His Outrageous Salary?

When Is Sydney Freund Going To Learn That The Cover Up Is Always Worse Than The Crime.

A Greenwich Public Schools Official Releases A January 4th Internal BOE Memo About Director of Facilities Anthony Byrne And It Ends Up In Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson's Hands And Gets Mentioned On The Front Page Of The Greenwich Time.

Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson Is Just Handed The Memo, He Doesn't Have To File A Freedom Of Information Request Or Pay The Fifty Cent Charge For The Document.

But When Greenwich Roundup Requested The Same Document He Was Given The Runaround By Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's Staff.

Then He Was Told That He Would Have To File A Freedom Of Information Request In Order To Get A Copy Of The January 4th Anthony Byrne Memo.

Then Greenwich Public Schools Employee Gina Williams Said She Had To Get Approval From Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund, Before She Could Release The The January 4th Anthony Byrne Memo.

The Board Of Education Officials Then Said The Request Had Been Sent Over To Town Attorney Wayne Fox In An Effort To Prevent It's Release To Greenwich Roundup.

Thumbs Down For Steve Anderson

A Message About The Anthony Byrne Memo Was Left For Greenwich Board of Education Chairman Steve Anderson, But He Was Apparently Too Afraid To Return The Call To Greenwich Roundup.

Greenwich Board of Education Chairman Steve Anderson Quickly Returned Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson Just Before January 28, 2010.

The Cowardly Steve Anderson Was All Too Happy To State To Colin "THE BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson That The Director of Facilities Anthony Byrne Had Tendered His Resignation, Effective Sometime In March. But He Is Scared To Death To Talk To The Real Reporter Who Broke The Story That Byrne Had Been Sent Packing Over A Month Ago.

Once Again, Greenwich Board of Education Chairman Steve Anderson Has Shown That He Lacks The Leadership That Is Needed To Protect The Interests Of Parents And Taxpayers.

Shame, Shame, Shame On Greenwich Board of Education Chairman Steve Anderson.

Thumbs Down For Sidney Freund

Messages Were Left Monday And Today About The Anthony Byrne Memo For Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund, But He Has Failed To Respond To Greenwich Roundups Hard Hitting Questions.

In Fact, School Officials Have Privately Told Greenwich Roundup That They Fear Speaking About The Memo That School District Employees Received On January 4th.

Some School Officals Said They Have Been Instructed Not To Give The Memo To Greenwich Roundup By Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's Office.

Even Though A School Official Has Provided Access To The January 4th Anthony Byrne Memo To Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE Gustafson.

Rookie Reporter Gustafson Even Wrote About The January 4th Memo In A Front Page Above The Fold Greenwich Time Article.

Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox Says That He Reviews All Board Of Education Freedom Of Information Requests That Are Sent By The Greenwich Public Schools, And That He Had Not Been Sent A FOI Request From Gustafson Or The Greenwich Time Concerning Anthony Byrne.

So One Of Two Things Is Happening Here.

Either A BOE Official Has Improperly And Illegally Provided The Anthony Byrne Memo To Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson.

Or

Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Is Playing Favorites And Preventing A Board Of Education Critic From Having The Same Access To Public Records As The Greenwich Time Gets.

Today, Town Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox Told Greenwich Roundup That The Anthony Byrne Memo Was Most Likely A Public Record, But He Could Not Definitively Rule On It Because Sidney Freund's Staff Had Only Sent Him The Freedom Of Information Request And Not The Memo.

So It Appears That Greenwich Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Is Providing Easy Access To Public Documents To Media Reporters He He Likes And Preventing Access To Media Reporters Who Are Critical Of Him And His Administration.

Shame, Shame, Shame On Greenwich Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund

Thumbs Down For Kim Eves

A Message About The Anthony Byrne Memo Was Left For Greenwich Board of Education Communication Director Kim Eves.

Ms. Eves Also Failed To Respond To Greenwich Roundup's Message.

But One Probably Shouldn't Judge Ms. Eves To Harshly.

The Last Time Ms. Eves Talked About Anthony Byrne She Caught Up In The Middle Of Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's Cover Up.

PLEASE SEE:

02/05/10 He Said She Said At The Board Of Ed

Often Times The Cover Up Is Worse Than The Crime


Superintendent says: 'No misconduct' in Byrne retirement


He Said:


“It has come to my attention that the news media has been provided with false and/or misleading information regarding Anthony Byrne’s employment status with the board,” Dr. Freund said in his statement. “Mr. Byrne is currently on leave pending a voluntary retirement when he reaches eligibility effective April 1, 2010. Mr. Byrne has not been terminated and there has been no finding that he engaged in any misconduct in the course of his employment by the board.”


She Said:


According to district Director of Communications Kim Eves, Mr. Byrne was placed on leave with pay Jan. 4.


He Clamed Up:


Asked why he was placed on leave, Dr. Freund said he couldn’t comment because it is a personnel matter......

=========================

Lastly, Thumbs Down For Colin Gustafson

A Message About The Anthony Byrne Memo Was Left For Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson, Who Like Board Of Education Officials Was Too Cowardly To Return The Phone Call.

Many Times, Greenwich Time Reporters Over The Years Have Called Greenwich Roundup To Ask Questions Or To Get A Quote, And Each And Every Time Greenwich Roundup Has Had The Professional Courtesy To Quickly Return The Call.

Last Summer When Hearst Newspaper Editor David McCumber Had Niel Vidgor Try And Do A Retaliatory Hatchet Job On Greenwich Roundup, This Reporter Was Man Enough To Pick Up The Phone And Respond To Each And Every Greenwich Time Question.

But Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "BOE BROWN NOSE" Gustafson Whimped Out When Greenwich Roundup Called Up.

Colin All We Wanted To Know Is ....

How Did You Get So Much Special Access At The BOE?

Did You Have To Sleep With Someone To Get Such Special Treatment?

Was It Sidney?

Efforts To Reach Anthony Byrne, Whose Absence Began January 4th Were Unsuccessful

The Greenwich Board Of Education Has No Fear Of The Mainstream Media, But Is Very Afraid Of Citizen Journalists And Their Freedom Of Information Requests.

In Fact, Former Greenwich Superintendent Of Schools Betty Sternberg Abruptly Resigned, Because Of Citizen Journalist News Reports That Centered Around A Freedom Of Information Request.

LETS FLASHBACK TO

ONE MONTH BEFORE

BETTY STERNBERG'S

DEPARTURE NOTICE

09/21/08 Greenwich Educationline: Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson Can't See That Failed Aministrators Are Causing Low Test Scores

Did Greenwich Education Reporter Colin Gustafson's Previously Work For This Newspaper?
Quotes From Horribly Confused School Administrators:


"It's perplexing," Susan Ellis,a Board of Education member, said at the board's Aug. 28 meeting.


"To have that juxtaposition, where writing is at a five-year high and reading a five-year low - it just doesn't compute," GHS headmaster Al Capasso said recently. "You have to do a considerable amount of reading and comprehension to be proficient at the writing section."


Previously Colin Gustafonson Filed This Report On The Failed Greenwich School Administrators:


Test scores offer mixed picture
By Colin Gustafson
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/26/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT


Middle-school reading scores reached five-year highs in the 2007-08 school year, while the portion of high school students proficient in writing increased by impressive margins.... blah... blah... blah..... I just write what school district administrator John Curtin tells me.... blah.... blah.... blah


And Greenwich Roundup Set The Record Straight By Reporting:


Only a fool would call these results mixed. Here's the truth. That giant sucking sound that taxpayers and parents hear is the sound of failed school administrators flushing their children down the drain.


Here is the failed report cards of our high paid school administrators.....


The Department Of Justice may soon visit the school district, because of the school administrator's failure to start to close the growing the achievement gap between white students and lower-income minorities.


The Greenwich School Administrators are repeatedly failing to address the longtime "gender gap" between boys and girls in math. and English.


Greenwich School Administrators allowed elementary and middle-school writing scores to fall for a second year on the Connecticut Mastery Test. (The percentage of students at goal tumbled from 81.2 in 2006, to 79.8 in 2007, to 77.2 in 2008. The "goal" to be satisfactory performance.

That means that 23% of Greenwich elementary and middle-school students can not satisfactorily pass the State Of Connecticut's writing test.)


Elementary scores were a disaster. Only North Mianus School was a success story, as it was the only elementary program in the district where proficiency levels increased on the math, reading and writing portions of the CMT.


In 2007-08, Hamilton Avenue School posted the lowest proficiency levels of all elementary schools on every CMT test. It also saw the biggest year-to-year declines in proficiency, with the percentage of at goal students in the writing CMT plummeting from 72.7 percent to 48.1 percent between 2007 and 2008.


The number of black students reaching goal in that test dropped to 32.3 percent in 2008, lower than the at-goal percentages of Hispanics (54.2), whites (82.8) and Asians (87.9).The poorest and most disadvantaged members of Greenwich Society are being screwed over as failed school administrators cash big fat paychecks.


Now Colin Files This Report On The Failed Greenwich School Administrators:


Low scores perplex educators


Greenwich school officials were incredulous when they saw how sharply 10th-grade reading scores had dropped on the most recent sitting of the state's Connecticut Academic Performance Test.


The drop was so sharp - down from 71.6 percent reaching "goal" in 2007 to 61.3 percent this year, more than a 10-point decline and a five-year low - that one school district administrator, John Curtin, initially suspected there had been an error in scoring the exams of Greenwich students.


There had not.


If not an error, perhaps other districts with a similar demographic make-up had fared similarly, he thought. Almost none had.


"We haven't found a smoking gun," Curtin said recently. "We were an anomaly."


The decline comes on the heels of slow-and-steady progress in the number of GHS students achieving goal, which, in the four years from 2004 to 2007, jumped from 67.3, to 69, to 71 and 71.6.


There was also a sharp drop in the percentage of 10th-graders scoring at the "advanced" level, which fell more than 13 points, to 28.2 percent this year, from 41.4 percent last year. Students scoring at the "proficient" level also dropped, though by a smaller margin, from 94.1 to 91.1.


The decline in performance is in sharper focus now that the state Department of Education has cited the district for failing to make "adequate yearly progress," in part, due to lackluster reading results at Greenwich High and Central Middle schools.....


.....the district's English coordinator will work closely with GHS faculty this year to ensure that "they're covering all their bases" in English instruction, Curtin said.


There will be no overhaul to the curriculum, however, in response to what could be a one-year blip in reading performance, he added. "Sometimes anomalous things happen one year that don't happen again the next."


The Board of Education will meet Oct. 23 to discuss a yet-to-be-released "monitoring report" on reading scores


Please ReadThe Full Greenwich Time Story And Tell Me If , Wet Behind The Ears Education Reporter Talked To Or Quoted One Parent, One Idependent Testing Expert Or A Single Family Home Owner Who Is Forced To Pay For These Failed Administrators.


Let me save you some time. Ametuer Education Reporter Colin Gustafonson only talked to failed school leaders about their poor performance in his one sided and biased article.


Please See:


08/27/08 Greenwich Time News Links


08/27/08 GREENWICH ROUNDUP READER RESPONDS: Greenwich School's Test Scores


08/29/08 Is Michael Bodson Parading Colin Gustafson Around With A Nose Ring?


09/01/08 Why Are Betty Sternberg, Susan Wallerstein And Anthony Byrne Still Collecting Board Of Education Paychecks????


09/07/08 Multi-Million-Dollar School Administration Failures Have Now Led To Town Service Cut Backs

=========================

09/21/08 Around Here When Bill Clark Says Frog We Jump. When The Scribe Of Greenwich Says Jump We Ask,"How High"?


Bill "The Scribe Of Greenwich" Clark says......

I agree.Can you find out what happened to the June survey than many of us filled out about the educational system here in town? One of the questions was, should Betty Sternberg lose her job? I was told at one point that she had agreed to resign if that's what the survey said.The survey was machine-readable, filled out with #2 pencils (like the SAT exam). Surely the results are now available over 3 1/2 months later?Oh - and if you check out the Hartford Courant web site for today (9/21/08), you will see a video clip on the front page, "Greenwich Losses Affect Everyone." It features yours truly and First Selectman Peter Tesei. Is there any way you can download the clip to "Greenwich Roundup?" I think your readers would find it interesting.


Comment:


That survey may be stored inside Betty Sternberg's Office safe, unless the Greenwich Board Of Education has ordered it shredded.


Seriously, the survey is a public document that anyone can request via the freedom of information laws. The Board of education is required to respond less than 5 Business days.


On the fifth day, if there is no response then a parent or taxpayer could ask the state freedom Of information commission to force the Board Of Education to release the document.


Maybe, Betty will get fined by the freedom of information guys like Jim Lash was. Or maybe it will Nancy since she is the the Board Of Education Chairman.


The reason there is so many problems at the Board Of Education is because there is no transparency and accountability.

=========================

09/30/08 Exclusive: The Scribe Of Greenwich Is Back At His Computer Terminal And Has Just Scooped A Greenwich Time Reporter Who Is Wet Behind The Ears


Mainstream Greenwich Time Education Reporter Colin Gustafson And Betty Sternberg Both Get Big Fat F's.

Colin Gets An F for letting The Board Of Education Spoon Feed Greenwich Parents Misinformation About The Harris Survey Via His Pitiful Reporting.

An A For Citizen Journalist Bill Clark For Going Down To The School Administration Building And Actually Picking Up A Copy Of The Harris Survey And Independently Interpreting The Data With Out BOE Communication Director Kim Eves Spin.

If Greenwich Time Editor David Warner Was Worth His Salt He Would Walk Over To Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson Desk And Say, "Show Me Your Copy Of The Harris Survey."

And When Armature Reporter Colin Gustafson Could Only Show Him Board Of Education Press Releases About The Survey. Colin Would Be Shown The Door And Given Information On How To Reach The Other Fired Greenwich Time Employees At Our Greenwich .

Why Isn't Greenwich Time Editor David Warner Smart enough to hire real talent like Citizen journalist Bill "The Scribe Of Greenwich" Clark who is not afraid to bring the Greenwich school parents and the single family homeowners this exclusive news story:

Betty Sternberg Gets an "F"

By Bill "The Scribe Of Greenwich" Clark

Your scribe has been down to the Board of Ed, and has picked up a copy of the Harris survey that was carried out in May and June of this year. As you may recall, dear reader, the survey was machine-readable, having been filled out with #2 lead pencils just as we all used to do with the SATs. Theoretically, the raw results should have been available within 24 hours. But that's not the way these surveys work.

Clearly the public cannot be trusted with the raw data. It has to be massaged and obfuscated first. If certain results are not as wished, a portion of the surveys can simply be declared unusable. If a certain issue - e.g., the level of dissatisfaction with the superintendant - is too one-sided, the "impact index" must be applied to mitigate this fact. Other factors used to massage the data are called the "incidence rate" and the "penalty", which must be multiplied together to provide the numerator of the "impact score", and so on and so forth. Finally, if a certain segment of the population survey (in this case, community leaders and RTM members) is wildly anti-Betty, you can just decide not to report most of their results at all.

The survey was filled out by four general categories of "stakeholders" (shades of Wall Street!): students, teachers, parents, and community leaders. The students, being clearly not yet fully educated by definition, were not allowed to register an opinion of Betty. But the other three categories were, and in each of these groups Betty came in dead last in the "satisfaction" sweepstakes.

The scale used by Harris is the usual 1 to 10. As we all recall from our own schooldays, a grade of 60% was a low pass - a "D". 70% was a "C"; 80% was a "B"; and 90% or better was an "A". Anything below 60% was an automatic "F".

The teachers and staff gave the school system an overall satisfaction rating of 66% - a D+, let us say. The highest satisfaction for them was with the school atmosphere, parental support, the local principal, their own careers, and the students. These grades averaged out to just under 80% - call it a B-.

But Betty? She got the lowest rating of all at 50%, closely followed by the School Board at 52% and the central administration at the Havemeyer Building of 54%. Oops. Looks like they all got an F.

Betty did better with the parents, oddly enough. The parents' overall satisfaction rating was 76% - a C+. But Betty again got the lowest rating from them, at 57%. Oops. Another F.

The community leaders had an overall satisfaction rate of 70%, down from 83% just two years ago. That's a solid C, folks. Not a great grade for the Town of Greenwich school system. And who, of course, got the lowest rating in the survey? Why, Betty, of course - 54%. Oops again. Yet another F.

The only group allowed to rate the School Board as a separate category were the community leaders. Only two years ago, the level of community dissatisfaction with the Board (why does Harris suddenly reverse the reporting methodology like this?!) was 17%. Now it has soared to 39%. Harris deems this to be a "Negative" trend. No sh*t, Sherlock. For this they get the big bucks?

So there you have it, dear reader: Betty gets a resounding "F" from teachers, parents, and the community. But she continues to draw her obscene salary and benefits package of well over a quarter of a million dollars. Is there something wrong with this picture? Are we living in Greenwich or Wonderland? Or is there any difference between them?

Greenwich Gossip - http://greenwich-gossip.blogspot.com/

COMMENT FROM GREENWICH ROUNDUP:

Definition: Bill Clark » A journalist worth his salt


Many would-be amateur journalists like Colin Gustafson seem intimidated by the Board Of Education.

Thank God Greenwich Taxpayers have the Scribe Of Greenwich to alert them to what is really happening at the BOE.

You can't trust the sloppy and incomplete reporting at the Greenwich Time, but you can trust the factual writings of Bill Clark so do the smart thing and subscribe to Greenwich Gossip's RSS Feed.

=========================

Now Contrast And Compare How The Greenwich "We Love Betty More Than The Kids" Citizen Finally Reported On The Survey In Town After Every Newspaper In Town Followed Citizen Journalist Bill Clark's Freedom Of Information Request And Reported The Bad Results On Their Front Pages And Home Pages.


Poll Points to Dissatisfaction in Schools
By Anne W. Semmes
Article Last Updated: 10/10/2008 10:05:21 AM EDT


....."It was quite a big drop," said Dr. Betty Sternberg, superintendent of schools. Sternberg, who took up her post prior to the administering of the 2006 Harris Poll, revealed the survey findings in a press conference held before last Thursday's regular meeting of the Board of Education.

With her to explain the findings was John Curtin, assistant superintendent of research and evaluation.....


Sternberg called the poll a "courageous undertaking" by the Board of Education. "Its better to know what people are thinking, than not," she said.


Only two other districts in the state administered the survey, which carried a price tag of $22,000, a factor, no doubt, in that only 200 districts nationwide employ it.
"We see in the results overall satisfaction is a concern particularly with adults," Sternberg said. She called the results "disappointing but not surprising." ...... blah ..... blah ... Blah ....


Please Note That....


Betty Sternberg's Flurry Of Panicked Board Of Education Press Releases And An Unprecedented Emergency Press Conference That Was Held Before The Last BOE Meeting Was In Response To Bill Clark's Freedom Of Information Request And His Blog Post.


But Greenwich Mainstream Reporters Are Soooooooooo Much Better Than Bloggers And Citizen Journalists --- Yeah right.

=========================

10/17/08 Greenwich Time News Links Or Goodbye Betty

Sternberg has announced her intention to step down at the end of the school year

....With a Board of Education vote looming next week on whether to renew her contract with the school system, Sternberg said she decided on Monday night to not seek renewal of her employment agreement, which expires June 30, 2009.....

....Several school board members described Sternberg's decision Wednesday night as a surprise, and said the superintendent had not faced internal pressure from individual members to step down....


..."This was her own decision," said Board Chairwoman Nancy Weissler, who was on the four-person search committee that recommended Sternberg for the position in 2006. The others were current member Steven Anderson and two former members, Ginny Gwynn and Bill Kelly.


Weissler said she will begin selecting members for a new search committee to find Sternberg's successor following the body's Oct. 23 meeting.....

Please See:


Greenwich Gossip


She's Gone!!! (Except She's Not)


Our topic today is Betty Sternberg, of course. A scant few days before the Board of Ed was to meet to review her contract, Betty has bailed. The Board raises its hands in professed surprise.

"We had no idea," is the gist of their comments.


If so, they are even more mentally challenged than your scribe has previously supposed.

Practically since the day she came, Betty has been receiving negative reviews from parents, teachers, and the community at large. These were recently codified in the Harris Survey in which Betty received a failing grade in every single category from every single constituency.


And so she has jumped before she was pushed. And the Board of Education is taken by surprise? Spare me.


The real problem, of course, is that she will continue to be around to plague us and drain our Town treasury dry right up to the middle of next year. Why the Board of Ed doesn't just buy out her contract and give her the boot is one of life's great mysteries. Perhaps they're curious to see just how much more havoc she can wreak before the door finally hits her in the rear end next June 30.


Your scribe predicts that she will do considerably more damage to our already-reeling school system before then. She is like* the pilot of a burning airplane who has no parachute. She is certain to crash and burn. Will she head for an empty field, or, more likely, yet another school full of young children?


She has already all but destroyed Hamilton Avenue, and Glenville School exists in name only. That's two down in two years. But she still has almost a year to go, so she has time to target one more school here in Town.


Will it be New Lebanon? Parkway? North Street? Julian Curtiss? Cos Cob? North Mianus? Dundee? Riverside? Old Greenwich? How about the middle schools? Or perhaps even Greenwich High School itself?


How many more talented faculty members and administrators can she drive away in the next nine months? How many more falling test scores can we expect to see between now and then?
Since Betty is unable to do the honorable thing and just resign immediately, the Board should simply bite the bullet and fire her. By any standards of job performance, she has been and continues to be a miserable failure.


Why should she stay on the job even one more day?


That is a rhetorical question, dear reader. Everyone in Town, with the obvious exception of the Board of Ed, knows the answer. She should not.


*N.B. This is what is known as a simile, a literary device that is not to be confused with objective fact. It is meant to help clarify something to the reader, in this case the gravity of the ever-burgeoning train wreck in our Town's educational system. In no way is it meant to suggest that Betty knows how to pilot an airplane, or even how to steer one.


Breaking News ....


The Clueless Greenwich Citizen And Greenwich Post Have Been Totally Unaware Of Betty Sternberg's Resignation For Two Days, Because They Have Posted Nothing About This News Story.

==================================

Please send your comments, newstips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/09/10 First County Bank Hires Zaremski to Lead Commercial Lending

Good afternoon,

Hoping you might run the following announcement about Richard Zaremski
joining First County Bank from Merrill Lynch. Zaremski and Rey
Giallongo, executive vice president at First County Bank, have a long
history together. Zaremski was brought on to help further develop the
commercial lending practice at First County.

The news release follows and a photo of Zaremski is attached. If
you'd like to speak with either executive about this announcement,
please ping me back or call my cell at 203.981.4230.

Thank you.

Best,
Jason

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Jason Kannon
Creative Partners
203.705.9203
jkannon@creativepartners.com

FIRST COUNTY BANK HIRES ZAREMSKI TO RUN COMMERCIAL LENDING UNIT
-- Veteran Banker Plans to Significantly Grow Business in 2010 --

STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 9, 2010 — Richard P. Zaremski recently joined
First County Bank as senior vice president commercial lending director
reporting to Rey Giallongo. Most recently, Zaremski was vice
president, finance manager at Merrill Lynch in New York where he
originated, negotiated and closed commercial loans valued from
$100,000 to $25 million.

As a director, Zaremski plans, directs and controls the commercial
lending function. He provides leadership and direction in the overall
growth, development and risk management of the bank. This includes
sales, business development and portfolio management. And he
participates in the overall planning and direction of the bank.

"Rick is a very experienced commercial loan officer who will
significantly contribute to First County Bank's bottom line," said
Giallongo. "I've known Rick for more than 20 years. In fact, we
started working together at Union Trust Co. back in the 1980s. Rick
will be a tremendous asset who will help us grow the commercial
lending business of this 159 year old institution."

Zaremski earned a bachelor's degree in English from Fairfield
University and has Series 7, 63 and 65 registrations from the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The Norwalk resident who has
three children enjoys golf, fishing and travel.

First County Bank, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., is an independent
mutual community bank with 15 branches in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien,
New Canaan, Norwalk and Westport offering deposit products, mortgages,
trust and investment services, business banking services and online
banking. First County Bank has assets in excess of $1.2 billion. For
additional information, please visit
www.firstcountybank.com.

==================================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/09/10 To Avoid A Lawsuit The BOE Sends An Acknowledgement After Gina Williams Ineptly Handles Greenwich Roundup's Anthony Byrne FOI Request

Last Friday Greenwich Roundup Went To The Greenwich BOE Offices To Request A Copy Of An January 4th Email That Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's Administration Had Already Given To A Greenwich Time Reporter.

The Email Was About Greenwich Public Schools Facility Director Anthony Byrne, Who Is On Administrative Leave.

Greenwich Roundup Got a Great Deal Of Run Around And Eventually Ended Up Talkinfg To Interim Director Human Resources Director Gina Williams.

Ms. Williams Expressed To Greenwich Roundup That She Was A Friend Of Mr. Byrne And Was Not Going To Give A copy Of The Byrne Memo That Had Already Been Given To The Greenwich Time.

After Debating CT Freedom Of Information Laws With Ms. Williams For Quite A While, She Then Instructed Greenwich Roundup To Leave The Board Of Education Building And Return With A Freedom Of Information Request.

Greenwich Roundup Then Informed Her That He Would Write Her A FOI Letter Right In The Board Of Education Building Lobby And Give It To Her.

Ms. Williams Accepted The FOI Request About Anthony Byrne And Said That It Had To Reviewed By Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund, And He Would Determine If The Anthony Byrne MemoWill Be Released For A Second Time.

On Monday Greenwich Roundup Left Messages For Williams And Freund, But Niether One Called Or Emailed Greenwich Roundup.

On Tuesday, Greenwich Roundup Returned To The Greenwich BOE Building And Asked For Gina Williams Who Now Said She Was Waiting For Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox To Get Back To Her.

So Greenwich Roundup Went To See Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox And Debra Nielson Told Greenwich Roundup That Gina Williams Had Only Recently Sent Over The Anthony Byrne FOI Request, But Had Not Sent The Actual Memo.

Ms. Nielson Said That The Hold Up Was With The BOE.

First The BOE Says It Is The Town Attorney

And Then The Town Attorney Says That It Is The BOE.

So Greenwich Roundup Went Back To Try And Get To Once Again Get An Appointment With Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund, To Complain About The Run Around He Was Getting From Gina Williams.

While Greenwich Roundup Was Talking To Linda Valentine, Who Is Sydney Freund's Secretary, In Comes Gina Williams Interupting And Trying To Prevent Greenwich Roundup From Getting An Appointment With Freund.

Ms. Valentine Said That The Superintendent Would Call, But Once Again Fruend Failed To Call.

Later Greenwich Roundup Went And Met With Greenwich Town Attorney John Wayne Fox.

Mr. Fox Told Greenwich Roundup That The Anthony Byrne Memo Was Probably A Public Document That It Most Likely Could Be Obtained By An FOI Request,

Mr. Fox Said He Now Had To Review The Memo, Because The Board Of Education Made A Request.

Mr. Fox Further Stated He Could Not Rule On The Memo, Because The Board Of Education Still Had Not Sent Him A Copy Of The Memo.

Mr. Fox Said That Greenwich Roundup Would Most Likely Get A Copy Of The Anthony Byrne Memo By Friday, If Everything Went Well.

Greenwich Roundup Went Back To The Board Of Education To Once Again Try And Meet With Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund And Ask Him To Put An End To This Nonsence.

Mr. Freund Was Not There, But Greenwich Roundup Was Told That Rich Calcavecchio The Director Of Budgets & SystemsWas The Highest Ranking BOE Administrator That Could Meet With Greenwich Roundup.

As Greenwich Round Up Started To Talk To Mr. Calavecchio, Here Came Anthony Byrne's Friend Gina Williams To Tnterupt The Meeting.

Greenwich Roundup Asked Mr. Calavecchio To Send Gina Williams Away, Because The Purpose Of The Meeting Was To Complain How Williams Was Making A Mountain Out Of A Mole Hill With This Anthony Byrne Memo FOI Request.

Greenwich Roundup Asked Mr. Calavecchio If Gina Williams Routinely Handled FOI Requests And He Responded That She Did Not.

He Further Stated He Did Not Know Why Ms. Williams Was Involved With This FOI Request.

Greenwich Roundup Expressed To Mr. Calavecchio That Gina Williams Was Making A Big Fat Deal Out Of A Memo That Had Already Been Determined To Be A Public Document By A Greenwich Board Of Education Offical.

Information From The Memo Had Been Featured In A Greenwich Time Front Page News Story And On The Greenwich Time Web Site.

Further, Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Had Issued A BOE Press Release That Discussed The Same Information In The Anthony Byrne Memo.

Greenwich Roundup Summed Up His Arguement To Mr. Calcavecchio That There Appears To Be No Privaleged Information In The Anthony Byrne Memo

It Seems That Greenwich Roundup Is Being Denied Access To The Public Document, Only Because Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Dislikes Some Blog Reports About His Administration.

It Further Seems That The Greenwich Time Is Getting Access To The Anthony Byrne Memo, Because Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund Likes Their Passive News Reports About His Administration.

Mr. Calavecchio Said He Would Express My Concerns To Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund.

Soon After Greenwich Roundup Met With Mr. Calavecchio; Gerry Thompson A Board Of Education's Confidential Assistant Sent Greenwich Roundup This Email.

From: Gerry_Thompson@greenwich.k12.ct.us

To: greenwichroundup@gmail.com


Date: Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 2:23 PM

Subject: FOI

Mailed-by: greenwich.k12.ct.us

This will acknowledge receipt of your FOI request dated Friday, February
5, 2010. Please be advised that we will respond accordingly after review
with the Town Law Department.

Thank you.

Gerry Thompson
Confidential Assistant
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 625-7461
FAX (203) 625-7408

It is time to review the Integrity And Transparancy of

Greenwich Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's Office


Democratic government is based on the consent of the governed. That consent is based in large part on the public understanding that the people who make up its government perform their jobs competently and diligently and act reasonably and responsibly in carrying out their functions. One of the most important functions is to obey the law and it goes without saying that the public should be able to anticipate that its legal rights will be recognized, not ignored.

Because of the insularity of government as it becomes more removed from daily interaction with the public, to send citizens into government agencies who may realistically never deal with individuals off the street provided a challenging test to the ability of those agencies and their employees to recognize their statutory obligations and fulfill them.

Based on Greenwich Roundup's request for a copy of the January 4th memo about Anthony Byrne, we see that Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund as a whole flunked with flying colors.

Freund's inability to process a walk-in request for a standard public record carried an impact greater than just passing or failing a test.

It has provided many of the Greenwich taxpayers with a personal illustrations of how poorly the Greenwich Public Schools operate.

Parents are seeing how an encounter with a Greenwich public school employee can prove to be intimidating, unpleasant, and sometimes downright nasty.

Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund's administration often causes taxpayers to have a consistent disenchantment with government and perhaps a certain sorrow that citizen interactions with Greenwich Public Schools can be so frequently disappointing.

Unfortunately, Sidney Freund's lack of leadership prevents the school system to impliment reforms that will prevent parents from having the overall feeling of intimidation.

It was not so much that the Greenwich Board Of Education employees themselves were intimidating, while in some instances that was the case, but the process of going to the BOE building and getting to the the run around to different government offices that causes citizens to have feelings of intimidation.

Greenwich Roundup did get the feeling that the Anthony Byrne information he was requesting was top secret and that my request was unusual.

At some points Greenwich Roundup did get the impression that BOE employees felt that he had no business with the Anthony Byrne information that he was requesting to see.

Had Greenwich Roundup been just a regular citizen coming into either office and had not known his rights, he would have been more than a little intimidated.

Even knowing that he was perfectly within my rights asking for this Anthony Byrne information, Greenwich Roundup did at times feel a little intimidated.

Greenwich Roundup found this to be a very eye-opening experience.

Perhaps the results will turn into public embarrassment for Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund, but Greenwich Roundup also thinks there should be some other kind of punishment, such as CT FOI fines, in order for this problem to be fixed at least a little.

Hopefully the Freedom Of Information Request for the January 4th Anthony Byrne memo will demonstrate how the Greenwich Public School System is not complying with the laws, or not having a solid understanding of what the CT FOI law is.

Greenwich Roundup pitys any citizen who requests records from Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund and is not one hundred percent sure of their rights, because his response is brutal.

All that Greenwich Roundup can really say about the Greenwich Public School FOI request is that it left him feeling exceptionally jaded toward Sidney Freund's administration. Greenwich Roundup did not really expect that there would be easy compliance at the BOE, but he also did not expect the level of paranoia that was encountered when he asked for the January 4th Anthony Byrne memo.

It is really just sad.

The whole Anthony Byrne information request just shows that failed Greenwich Public Schools administrators are so afraid of the public that they make it nearly impossible to get certain records.

Greenwich Roundup don’t appreciate being given the run around by the Freund administration, even when he stated his request numerous times.

Clearly Greenwich Public School employees have not been properly briefed on FOI regulations and therefore resulted in failure by the Freund administration. Freund's administrator's felt vulnerable when A FOI request was put in for the January 4th Anthony Byrne memo.

One woman’s eyes and facial expression actually grew a look of fear and her actions became hesitant. Some BOE employees were quite cooperative with Greenwich Roundup, but they just didn’t know what the FOI specs were, so they were apprehensive about complying with this Anthony Byrne request.

Even though the The Anthony Byrne memo had already been given out by a Greenwich Board of Education official as public document to a Greenwich Time reporter.

A determination had already been made by a Greenwich BOE official that the Anthony Byrne document was a public record and was referenced in a front page Greenwich Time news story.

Once the Anthony Byrne document was determined to be a public record, it is illegal for Sidney Freund to withold it from other Greenwich media just, because he doesn't like the news reports about his performance as superintendent.

==================================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/09/10 BREAKING NEWS AT TOPIX: Third suspect ID'd in Estate Treasures robbery

Topix Greenwich
Greenwich News - February 9, 2010
Third suspect ID'd in Estate Treasures robbery (Connecticut Post)
In September, Lakeem Jetter, 18, of 519 Hawley Ave., and Moses McCree , 20, of White Street, both in Bridgeport, were arrested in connection with the July 13, 2009, robbery. Comment

Greenwich Residents Learn How to Settle for Less
Greenwich Residents Learn How to Settle for Less (New York Magazine)
For a while it seemed like the landscape of Greenwich, Connecticut, long verdant with greenery and with money made at financial-services firms, would be forever altered by the financial crisis. Comment

Greenwich gets 15 domestic violence kits from federal grant (Connecticut Post)
The Greenwich Police Department is one of 27 state law enforcement agencies chosen to receive domestic violence and sexual assault kits as part of a grant from the United States Justice Department 's Office of Violence Against Women. Comment

Byram opposes cell tower plan (ctpost)
A Byram politician is pouring cold water on a proposal by T-Mobile to erect a cell tower in the community..... ... is too small, 38 Gold St., is too far to the west for T-Mobile's needs while the owners of 104 Ritch Ave., Greenwich Terrace Condominiums, didn't respond to T-Mobile's enquiries. The landlord of 124 Ritch Ave., Greenwich Shore Condominiums, weren't ... 1 Comment

Longtime Ethics Board Chair Victor Coudert dies (greenwichcitizen)
One of the longest serving members of town government, Victor Coudert Jr., died Tuesday following heart surgery.... Comment

Young actors take to the stage with enthusiasm
Young actors take to the stage with enthusiasm (acorn-online)
Brian Drittel and Rebecca Mellinger, now ninth graders at the Greenwich Country Day School, felt the first "vibes" of legitimate theater when they appeared in the Cole Porter musical, Anything Goes , in an eighth grade production at their school.... Comment

For Civil War Buffs (thejournalnews)
The Bruce Museum in Greenwich opens its newest exhibition "Lincoln Life-Size" on Saturday featuring full sized reproduction photographs of Abraham Lincoln, which hang alongside 19th-century images and artifacts that tell the story of his tumultuous presidency.....
UPDATE:
This Comment Just In To Topix.....
Byram opposes cell tower plan
A Byram politician is pouring cold water on a proposal by T-Mobile to erect a cell tower in the community.....
SubaruB4 says....
I really haven't been following this but for this tower where do they say where it will cover?
If I'm correct T-mobile already has two tower sites in Greenwich. One on the post road across from Wendy's and the other near the train station?
I'm in Byram and it's a pain to stand near or go outside just to make a call.
Greenwich, CT, February 8, 2010 - On Monday, February 1, 2010, the Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the Infectious Disease Society of America expressing "concern" over "improper voting procedures" used by the IDSA in the Lyme guidelines review voting process.
Sister Christian Says....
This has gone on long enough! The IDSA and CDC who have allowed this gross misconduct of civil duty should both be ripped from the pages of medicine and replaced with honorable doctors and scientists who know the research over the last 15 years cannot lie anymore. We the people demand action for everything that is known to be Lyme disease yet declared to be anything but Lyme Disease.
There should be no more votes allowed, they had their chance. Get them out of there. Start telling the people the tests are lousy unless conducted by a lyme specific lab and interpreted by a doctor who has now been told that with even one specific band that person may have Lyme.The literature is there and they have lied long enough.
Betty G says ....
"If the IDSA panel so deliberately violates the voting procedures, as expressly confirmed by the words of the IDSA's own internal memo, and refuses to comply with the Attorney General's request, there can be only one conclusion: The ability of the IDSA to ......"
you failed to SHOW CONCLUSION to above sentence; you left it up in the air??
I'm ashamed of the PANEL REVIEW TEAM for failing to take into consideraton ALL the ilads information and detailed book by PJ LANGHOFF, TE BAKER'S DOZEN, LUNATIC FRIDGE, JUNK SCIENCE, all about the idsa with over 1000+ links showing the idsa said 1 thing and did another!!
PJ dissected this info; it was proof beyond a doubt as well as all the other info. given to them.
Why we were NOT advised 1 panelist left in Aug. 09 for "family health issues' until late Dec. 09? Another coverup!
Panel knew this left the number EVEN numbers vs. ODD numbers on deciding votes.
As a 40 year chronic Lyme disease SURVIVOR; misdiagnosed for 34.5 years by 40-50 drs; I'm appauled by what has gone on for so long and all the "conflicts of interest" i've seen 1st hand these last 5.5 yrs. since my CORRECT diagnosis.
The only ones suffering are: WE chronic Lyme and co-infections patients with: bartonella, babsiosa, erlichia/anaplasma, RMSF/rocky mtn. spotted fever, & the endless other diseases ticks carry. UNACCEPTABLE! Pure hog wash.
These News Reports Just In To Topix .....
W.R. Berkley reports higher net income
W.R. Berkley Corp. reported $309 million in net income for 2009, a nearly 10% increase compared with 2008.....
Comment?
CT short-rail operator deal hungry
Regional railroad Genesee & Wyoming Inc. says fourth-quarter net income fell 28 percent from a year earlier, but the Greenwich short line rail operator says it has cash and credit aplenty to do deals....
Comment?
Nine area women honored by YWCA of Greenwich
Before accepting an award from the YWCA of Greenwich Friday for her professional achievements and community involvement, Elizabeth Richman said she did it all for her 11-year-old daughter, Lauren.....
Comment?
Extinguishing employee burnout
As the former chief marketing officer of financial services firms Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab, Mike Stallard is all too aware of the stress created when layoffs and consolidation force workers to bear the burden of heavier workloads....

... employee-manager relations as the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of E Pluribus Partners , a Greenwich-based business consulting firm, the solution is "employee engagement." "Supervisors need to stay connected to their staff," ...
Comment?
Kathy Lockwood Deserves Rookie of the Year Award for Her Book ...
In this blog, I endeavor to share thoughts about issues that I find timely and compelling - leadership, faith, business issues, recruiting trends, Renaissance Men and Women in the world, Service Academies and their graduates, helping military leaders transition to leadership roles in the business world, international travel, literature, theater, ...

... style, taken from the period in the Lockwood's life when Skip was pitching for the Mets and they lived in Greenwich, CT, close enough to make frequent forays into the theater world of Manhattan: "We were not alone in our obsession with theater. ...
Comment?
Residents encouraged to make important medical information accessible
When time is of the essence, emergency medical workers often lose even more precious minutes when they have to rifle around medicine cabinets and kitchens, or interview distraught family members to get someone's medical history....

... when someone is unconscious and we're called to someone's house," said Lynn Ridberg , director of education for Greenwich Emergency Medical Service . "To have this information right at the tips of your fingers is great." Recently, GEMS has teamed up ...
Comment?
Ron Arbuson
Greenwich, Conn., jewelry store owner, on a client who bought his wife a Mercedes S550 sedan this year instead of her usual Rolls-Royce, in a wonderful McClatchy story about bonus season in the banker enclave.....
Comment?

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/09/10 Greenwich Resident Tom Foley's Newsletter

Tom Foley for Governor

Providing for the common defense. Building roads and bridges. Promoting a healthy business climate. Caring for those who can't take care of themselves. As Republicans, we agree on what the essential responsibilities of government are.

We should also agree that government needs to be small, effective and efficient. That means there are many responsibilities the government should not take on. As Republicans we should all agree that Connecticut's citizens shouldn't be forced through higher taxes to pay for political campaigns. As a Republican, I don't like the idea of having my tax dollars go to commercials and campaign consultants for Democrats. Yet, that's exactly what we are forced to do under the Citizens' Election Program.

Our state is hundreds of millions of dollars in the red. Most candidates for governor, while talking about fiscal responsibility and reducing the cost of government, are hoping to get up to $4.5 million from the state to pay for their campaigns. Tom disagrees and I know you do, as well.

Thanks for your support. With your help, we're making sure that this is one campaign that won't add to your tax bill.
Justin Clark
Justin Clark
Campaign Manager, Tom Foley for Governor



Tom Foley for Governor

Approved by Tom Foley

PO Box 110384
Stamford, CT 06902
(203) 335-2010

==================================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/09/10 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: AM Edition

The Latest News Reports About Greenwich

Greenwich gets 15 domestic violence kits from federal grant
Greenwich Time
By Debra Friedman, STAFF WRITER The Greenwich Police Department is one of 27 state law enforcement agencies chosen to receive domestic violence and sexual ...
Greenwich Eyes Consultant Swap
Money Management Letter
The $280 million Town of Greenwich (Conn.) Retirement System is looking for a consultant. James Lavine, director of investments, said the fund issued a ...
W. R. Berkley Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter Results
MarketWatch
GREENWICH, Conn., Feb 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WR Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) today reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $134 million ...
Greenwich Post
Carcaterra named principal at Newmark Knight Frank
Greenwich Post
Brian Carcaterra has been promoted to principal in the Greenwich office of Newmark Knight Frank. A member of the Newmark Knight Frank team since 2002, ...
Darien Times
A hockey who's who?: Wave ID nailed down in 4-1 win over Westhill
Darien Times
Darien plays Fairfield Wednesday at home, a team beaten 7-1 by Greenwich in its last outing to drop to 4-8 — they are losers of five of their last seven, ...
Boys Hockey: "Glastonbury Moves Into Top 5."
Hartford Courant
Back-to-back losses to Glastonbury and Greenwich kept Green Knights from qualifying for tournament. TW: West Haven Saturday. 8. NEW CANAAN (12-3): LW: 6. ...
Boston Globe
Feeling the chill
Boston Globe
Linda Killian, portfolio manager for Renaissance Capital LLC, a research firm in Greenwich, Conn., said although "we're clearly coming off an unusual year, ...
'Blind Pools' Falter as Ziman, Callahan Plan Property Comeback
BusinessWeek
Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut, has $900 million in a hotel fund, managing director Marc Perrin said Nov. ...
RUDEN Trinity's Walsh goes after No. 501 in FCIAC finals rematch against Stamford
Stamford Advocate
Jones, a can't-miss prospect, ended up at Trinity Catholic because of the closing of St. Mary's in Greenwich, and on the counsel of former Crusader and ...
Extinguishing employee burnout
Danbury News Times
For Stallard, who studies employee-manager relations as the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of E Pluribus Partners, a Greenwich-based ...

Greenwich In The Blogoshere

Residents of Greenwich, Connecticut, Learn How to Settle for Less ...
By Jessica Pressler
The residents of the tony suburb to the north are forgoing Rolls Royces for more modest vehicles.
Daily Intel - http://nymag.com/daily/intel/
Cityfile: Greenwich Gets Back to 'Normal'
Greenwich Gets Back to 'Normal' Now that the economy has rebounded—for people who make their living on Wall Street, at least!—and big bonuses have returned, how are residents of fancy schmancy Greenwich faring? ...
Cityfile.com - Dailyfile - http://cityfile.com/dailyfile
The Well Appointed House by Melissa Hawks: Old Mill Farm in ...
By Melissa Hawks
Through the process of looking over the past few months, I have become quite familiar with the Greenwich housing market, and one spectacular estate that I wanted to share with you is Old Mill Farm, currently for sale through Sothebys ...
The Well Appointed House by Melissa... - http://wellappointedhouse.blogspot.com/
Greenwich GPD gets taxpayer-funded domestic violence kits « For What It's Worth...
By christopherfountain
February 8, 2010...9:20 pm. Greenwich GPD gets taxpayer-funded domestic violence kits. · A couple of whiffle ball bats would have been cheaper. To the moon, alice! ...
For What It's Worth - http://christopherfountain.com/
Residents of Greenwich, Connecticut, Learn How to Settle for Less ...
For a while it seemed like the landscape of Greenwich, Connecticut, long verdant with greenery and with money made at financial-services firms, would be.
World Actual News - http://worldreportsite.com/
Looking for logo designs (Greenwich,Ct) - Graphic Design Jobs
By webmaster@craigslist.org
We are a promotional company looking for someone on a project to project bases. The primary responsibilities of the Graphic Designer are to provide efficient and professional design work for client projects, and to provide professional, ...
Graphic Design Jobs - http://www.graphicdesign-jobs.com/
How real are Metter's SpongeTech new sales? - Teri Buhl ...
By Teri Buhl
Metter's company filed press releases saying it has $50 million in revenue and reiterated this number when he spoke with the Greenwich Time last week. Yet communication with investors has been virtually non-existent. ...
Teri Buhl - http://blog.ctnews.com/teribuhl/
Eating In Translation: Uncle Rick's Standing Room Only
By Dave Cook
This weekdays-only "gourmet lunch wagon" parks in the crowded lot out back of the Black Forest Pastry Shop, in Greenwich, Connecticut, the same town where Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream made its name. One featured menu item, ...
Eating In Translation - http://www.eatingintranslation.com/
iTeams - Connecticut High School Football, High School Basketball ...
Back-to-back losses to Glastonbury and Greenwich kept Green Knights from qualifying for tournament. TW: West Haven Saturday. 8. NEW CANAAN (12-3): LW: 6. Escaped upset bid by St. Joseph with 6-5 victory Saturday. ...
iTeams High School Sports blog - http://blogs.courant.com/school_zone/

Recently Updated Pages About Greenwich:

Bonus Watch: Greenwich Connecticut Is Feeling Good Again ...
We don't have to tell you bitching about bonuses is getting boring. Thankfully, the good people of Greenwich have nothing bad to say about them, ...

Greenwich residents are invited to support the troops with more ...
SFTT's B.E.S.T. evening of 'Beauty & Health 2010' on March 3 from 6:15 to 8:15 PM at Saks Fifth Avenue at 205 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, is designed to ...

The Greenwich Time's Tenacious Terrier Teri Buhl

How real are Metter's SpongeTech new sales? - Teri Buhl ...

By Teri Buhl

....Multiple calls to Walmart were made to determined the status of a new national Walmart contract with SpongeTech for its SpongeBob product. A spokesperson for Walmart responded late Monday that while SpongeTech has been a vendor in the past, there is currently no new national order for its SpongeBob product. Metter sent a photo of his product on a Walmart shelf to Greenwich Time but did not supply a copy of his contract or sales order.....

....Metter's company filed press releases saying it has $50 million in revenue and reiterated this number when he spoke with the Greenwich Time last week. Yet communication with investors has been virtually non-existent....

....the lawsuit’s first claim alleges that Metter, as CEO of SpongeTech, “employed schemes to defraud, while in possession of material adverse non-public information … in an effort to assure investors of SpongTech’s value and continue substantial growth,” it’s no wonder that Internet stock boards, such as investorhub.com, are lit up asking Metter to back up his claim about new contracts with CVS and Walmart.....

....SpongeTech is still searching for an accredited auditor to sign off on it’s end of year financials so they can file them with the SEC.
Last week, court documents show Metter has now added a expert in class-action securities fraud attorney, Jesse Weise of the Texas office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, to his defense.....

Teri Buhl - http://blog.ctnews.com/teribuhl/

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

02/04/10 Greenwich Roundup Reader Loves Teri Buhl's Reporting
Dear Greenwich Roundup,

Teri Buhl is probably the best thing that has happened in a long time at the Greenwich Time. I hope she doesn't get fired for stepping on too many toes or copying too much from others!!

Name Witheld By Request

Comment:


Dear Name Witheld By Request,


Greenwich Roundup agrees that Ms. Buhl is a very good reporter.
Every now and then Hearst Newspapers editor David McCumber actually screws up and hires a reporter with talent.


I wonder how Ms. Buhl feels about working with the likes of Susie Costaregni AKA The DISH .


Greenwich blogger Chris Fountain agrees with you and recently Posted Greenwich Time’s new pit bull strikes again.


Chris goes on to add, "Teri Buhl’s certainly earning her keep at our once moribund local. Today she’s out with a story of WGCH’s owner Michael Metter’s other profession: selling soapy sponges and watered stock."


Well once again, that old news hound Chris Fountain couldn't be more hopelessly wrong.


The shameless self promoting Greenwich Roundup Is The Big Bad Pit Bull Of Greenwich News Gathering.


Teri is more Like A Tenacious Terrier!

02/03/10 GREENWICH DEADBEAT REPORT: The Wanna Be Voice Of Greenwich, WGCH Owner Michael Metter, Can't Pay His Advertising Bills (Updated With Video)

And Greenwich Roundup Would Like To A Moment And Thank WGCH Owner Michael Metter For All The Interest And Web Traffic He Has Generated......

02/04/10 Greenwich Roundup Sets A New All Time Record And GT Editor David McCumber Wants To Know,"What The Hell, Just Happened To The Greenwich"

Very Soon Greenwich Roundup Will Feed 5,000 Unique Web Readers News About Greenwich

Greenwich Roundup Woke Up This Morning And Started Doing One Of His Crazy Dances That He Does After He Looks At His Previous Days Web Stats.

Today's Dance Was Called The Michael Metter - WGCH Dance , Because The Story About The Local Radio Station Owner Sent Greenwich Roundup 4,901 Unique Web Visitors Yesterday.

Last Year And Earlier This Year Greenwich Roundup Sent A Great Deal Of Web Traffic To The Greenwich Time.

Whenever There Was A Hearst Newspaper Story About Greenwich Over 90% Of Greenwich Roundup's Links And Web Traffic Went To The Greenwich Time.

In Fact, Greenwich Roundup Sent So Much Traffic To The Greenwich Time, That The Greenwich Time Jumped On To The Audit Bureau Of Circulation's List Of TheTop 25 U.S. Daily Newspapers With Print and Online Gains.

As The Greenwich Roundup's Web Traffic Grew At Double Digits, The Greenwich Time's Web Traffic Also Grew At Double Digit Rates.

The Greenwich Time Grew So Much That For Two ABC Reporting Periods It Was One Of The 25 The Fastest Growing Newspapers In America.

In The Fall Of 2008, The Greenwich Time Grew An Incredible 22.13 Percent And Was The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America For The First Time In It's Publishing History.

The Greenwich Time Print Circulation Had Once Again Declined In 2008 , But The Online Traffic Grew So Much The Paper Became The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America.

Then In The Spring Of 2009 The Greenwich Time Shocked The Newspaper Industry Once Again By Remaining The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America With An Eye Pooping 30.74% Percent Gain.

The Same Old Story Occurred Again, The Greenwich Time Print Circulation Had Once Again Declined In 2009 , But The Online Traffic Grew So Much The Paper Remained The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America For A Second Six Month Reporting Period.

PLEASE SEE:

04/28/09 Clueless Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter Doesn't Even Realize That He Works At The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America !!!

The Greenwich Time had the biggest gain in audience when taking print and online readership into account. The paper was ranked by net combined audience (past seven days in print and 30 days online), according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations in joint effort with Scarborough Research and the Newspaper Association of America.

The data is for the six months ending March 2009 compared to the same period in March 2008.

The Birmingham (Ala.) News and the Times-Picayune of New Orleans came in second and third.Year after year the Birmingham (Ala.) News and the Times-Picayune of New Orleans have experienced double digit growth as the newspapers have regained the readers lost after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the area.

GREENWICH (CONN.) TIME -- 111,824 -- 30.74%

THE BIRMINGHAM (ALA.) NEWS -- 781,047 -- 11.85%

THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, NEW ORLEANS -- 820,374 -- 11.72%

04/29/09 Managing Editor Bruce Hunter Can't Explain How The Greenwich Time Became The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America, But Greenwich Roundup Can

10/27 - 10/28/08 The Raw Greenwich News Feed Or Weird But True - Crappy Reporting Sells Well In Greenwich - Go Figure

ABC reports newspaper circulation drop

....The New York Times reported losing 3.58 percent of its daily readers to 1,000,665 and the Los Angeles Times dropped 5.2 percent to 739,147.Five of the top 25 newspapers reported double-digit losses: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shed 13.62 percent; the Houston Chronicle lost 11.66 percent; the Boston Globe lost 10.18 percent; the Star-Ledger, in Newark, N.J. shed 10.4 percent; and the Philadelphia Inquirer lost 11.06 percent...

......The Top 25 participating U.S. newspapers reported varying figures, with the Houston Chronicle gaining 4.33 percent in combined print and online figures, and the Dallas Morning News reporting a 21.91 percent downturn from the September 2007 Audience Fax release.

Connecticut dailies the Greenwich Times and The Stamford Advocate had the highest combined print and online gains, reporting increases of 22.13 percent and 20.01 percent, respectively.....

But In The Early Summer Of 2009, Greenwich Roundup Started To Get Upset With Hearst Newspaper Editor David McCumber And Greenwich Time Reporters Like Niel Vidgor.

Greenwich Roundup Also Got A Little Fed Up With Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas.

So Greenwich Roundup Took Action And Cut Back On The Web Traffic He Sent To The Greenwich Time.

Previously, When Ever There Was A Hearst Newspaper Story About Greenwich Over 90% Of The Links And Web Traffic Went To The Greenwich Time.

But Then Greenwich Roundup Started Sending 90% Links To Other Hearst Newspapers Who Printed The Same Story, Or To Local Blogs Who Commented On A Greenwich Time Story.

Then Guess What Happened?

The Greenwich Time Fell Off ABC'S List Of The Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Print and Online Gainers.

Sad But True The Greenwich Time Was No Longer The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America, Because Greenwich Roundup Had Stopped Sending Almost All Of It's Web Traffic To The Local Ungrateful Rag.

Greenwich Roundup Is Told That Hearst Newspaper Editor David McCumber Went Balistic When He Read This Report Showing That The Greenwich Time Fell Of The ABC List Of The Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Print and Online Gainers .

ABC Releases Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Print and Online Gainers And The Greenwich Time Drops Completely Off The List

An ABC analysis of the just released September FAS-FAX report lists the 25 newspapers with the largest increases in print and online readership. The Audience FAX data is for based on past seven days in print/30 days online net combined audience for designated market areas. In each case the data is provided by Scarborough Research on behalf of the Audit Bureau of Circulations and is based upon the most recent data compared to the same period a year ago.

TRIBUNE-REVIEW, PA

804,035

13.58%

TRIBUNE & TIMES, TAMPA FL

1,436,235

11.35%

HERALD-JOURNAL, SPARTENBURG,SC

255,322

10.93%

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

364,564

9.37%

TRIBUNE , OAKLAND, CA

646,697

8.35%

NEWS TRIBUNE, TACOMA WA

603,672

7.94%

TIMES-PICAYUNE , NEW ORLEANS

837,190

7.10%

NEWS & RECORD, GREENSBORO, NC

426,687

6.41%

ROANOKETIMES

433,063

6.30%

CONTRA COSTA TIMES, CA

770,917

6.27%

PRESS-REGISTER, MOBILE AL

450,344

6.13%

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, UT

666,377

6.08%

CHARLESTON GAZETTE,WV

265,479

5.76%

ASBURY PARK PRESS,NJ

853,809

5.35%

DENVER POST, CO

1,538,914

5.04%

COURIER-JOURNAL, LOUISVILLE KY (DMA)

841,600

4.81%

COMMERCIAL APPEAL , MEMPHIS TN

768,963

4.81%

TIMES LEADER WILKES-BARRE PA

195,455

4.81%

HOUSTON CHRONICLE, TX

2,511,425

4.77%

EL NUEVO HERALD , MIAMI FL

467,242

4.53%

BIRMINGHAM NEWS, AL

790,180

4.48%

DAILY MAIL, CHARLESTON WV

244,845

4.46%

COLUMBUS DISPATCH, OHIO

1,079,708

4.41%

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,NC

1,076,811

4.41%

HERALD-DISPATCH,HUNTINGTON WV

167,863

4.24%

Hearst Newspaper Insiders Tell Greenwich Roundup That Tings Got So Bad That Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Began To Fear That He Might Lose His Job.

Recently, Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Took Down The Old Greenwich Time Web Site And Put Up A Totally Redesigned Web Site.

But. Greenwich Roundup Hears That Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas' Web Traffic Numbers Are Not That Impressive.

Yesterday, WGCH And SpongeTech Executive Micheal Metter Helped Greenwich Roundup Score 4,901 Unique Web Visitors, But Hardly Any Of That Traffic Went To The Greenwich Time.

On The Micheal Metter Story Greenwich Roundup Linked To ......

Greenwich Diva

For What It's Worth - Chris Fountain

Greenwich Topix Message Board - CONN POST

Business Talk Radio

Roddy Boyd Slate - The Big Money

The SEC

New York Times

NY POST

YouTube

There Were A Few Other Links, But Not One Link Sent Greenwich Time Web Visitors To The Greenwich Time.

Hearst Newspaper's Did Get A Link From Greenwich Roundup's Buddy Robo Blogger At The Greenwich Topix Message Board That Link Went To The Connecticut Post .

As Greenwich Roundup Set A New All Time Web Traffic Record Of 4,901 Unque Web Visitors On The Michael Metter Story, Not One Link To The Greenwich Time Was Used In The Greenwich Roundup Post.

In The Old Days Before David McCumber, Niel Vidgor And Jonathan Lucas Upset Greenwich Roundup The Greenwich Time Would Have Been The First And Main Link.

Hearst Newspaper President Steven Swartz Couldn't Believe What A Wonder Kid Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Was.

In March, Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Will Once Again Not Be The Webmaster Of The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America.

Once Again, You Read It Here First, Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Will Not Make The ABC List Of The Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Print and Online Gainers.

Because Greenwich Roundup Will Continue His Practice Of First Taking Hearst Newspaper Stories About Greenwich From The Advocate , Connecticut Post , The News-Times Or From The Hearst Weekly Newspapers Such As The Greenwich Citizen , Fairfield Citizen , Westport News And The Darien News .

All Of The Greenwich News Stories Written By Hearst Are Published In Multiple Connecticut Newspapers.

However, Everyday Greenwich Roundup Will Throw Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas A Couple Of Bones By Providing A Couple Of Links To The Greenwich Time.

However, The Days Of Greenwich Roundup Linking To All Of The Hearst Newspaper Reports At The Greenwich Time Will Continue To Be Long Gone.

Greenwich Time Web editor Jonathan Lucas' Only Hope Is To Wine, Dine And Pocket Line Greenwich Roundup As He Says, "Mr. Roundup, I Love My Job At The Greenwich Time And I Am Sooooooo Sorry I Upset You. Please, Pretty Please, Send Me Thousands Of Your Website Visitors Everyday."

Let's See How Well Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Does In The Next ABC Report Due This March.

That's Right Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Has Twenty Some Freak'n Days To Get His Numbers Up

For The Record, Greenwich Roundup Will Match His Web Stat Traffic Growth Against Jonathan Lucas' Traffic Any Day Of The Weak.

One Day Greenwich Roundup Just Might Report On The Dirty Circulation Secret At The Greenwich Time.

Greenwich Roundup Has Three Readers Who Report That Years Ago They Filled Out The Card To Get 13 Weeks Of The Greenwich Time For $2.00 Per Week And Never Paid A Damn Dime.

The Greenwich Time Has Been Coming Free To These Families For Years.


Hearst Newspapers Refuses To Cancel These Non Paying Subscriptions, Because The Greenwich Time Print Circulation Numbers Would Fall Even Faster Than They Are Falling Now.

That's Right Only A Fool Pays For Greenwich Time Home Delivery

In Fact, Realtors That Are Selling Empty Greenwich Houses Often Have To Go And Collect All Of The Unread Greenwich Time News Papers That Collect In Front Of Their Listings.

The Good News Is That Greenwich Realtors Can Tell Prospective Buyers That The Home Comes With A Lifetime Subscription To The Greenwich Time.

Let's Hope That Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Doesn't Follow The Example Of The Print Side And Start Cooking The Books And Playing With The Numbers On The Web Side

UPDATE:

You Read It Hear First

Greenwich Time Web Editor Jonathan Lucas Is NOT Going To Return To The ABC Releases Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Print and Online Gainers

Greenwich Time Editor David McCumber, Just Can't Explain To Hearst Newspaper President Steven Swartz How He Screwed Up.

McCumber Took Over The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America And With In Six Months Droped Off ABC'c List Of Newspaper Print and Online Gainers.

The TIMES-PICAYUNE Of New Orleans And The BIRMINGHAM NEWS down in Alabama have been on the ABC'c List Of Newspaper Print and Online Gainers year after year.

They like the other consistant newspaper editors who are on ABC'c List Of Newspaper Print and Online Gainers have a crediable explaination of why they are there in every six month reporting period.

But only Greenwich Time Editor David McCumber, can't explain why he all of a sudden showed up on ABC'c List Of Newspaper Print and Online Gainers for two six month reporting periods and then suddenly droped off the list.

Maybe Hearst Newspaper's Should Bring Back Clueless Greenwich Time Editor Bruce Hunter. He Was Doing Great When Greenwich Roundup Was Banging Him Day In And Day Out.

To This Day Greenwich Roundup Can't Figure Out Why Bruce Hunter Called The Hearst Corporate Lawyers To Go After The Blogger That Made Him The Editor Of The Fastest Growing Newspaper In America.

But We All Knew That Bruce Hunter Was Not The Sharpest Tool In The Hearst Newspaper Shed.



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